I was hoping to have some actual news or even a fresh rumor to report to get things started today, but so far nothing. My plan is to use this posting for ongoing updates as the day goes on rather than start a new one with each whisper out there.

And off we go, new material stacked on top of old . . .

11:00 p.m. — Back now after finishing print edition story and taking care of a couple things around the house. I figure they took precedent over a wrap-up on a night when, um, nothing really happened.

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I did talk with Doug Wilson and he said he liked the idea of getting one of the top 11 picks and made some inquiries, but none of those teams ended up trading with anybody. He added that the Sharks could have gotten a first-round pick for the two second round picks it is holding, “but it wouldn’t have gotten us into the range we wanted to be.”

And the Sharks GM did say he talked with Anaheim’s Bob Murray when the Pronger trade talks were under way, “but it was quite evident he was not going to move him within the division.”

Also, he is interested in adding picks Saturday if the opportunity presents itself.

6:58 p.m. – That No. 26 pick that started out with the Sharks long, long ago? Columbus just traded it to Anaheim.

(One of my correspondents checked with an NHL official who said that pick has to set a league record for most well-travelled with six teams having their hands on it at one time or another.)

6:10 p.m. – The Ryane Clowe rumors resurface on TSN’s coverage, this time linked to Minnesota, which has the No. 16 pick. The crew also mentions that the Sharks are still trying to sign Clowe (as we’ve reported) so it looks as if Doug Wilson does want Clowe back, but only at the right price. Minnesota, you recall, is now coached by ex-Sharks assistant Todd Richards.

5:38 p.m. — Still waiting for the local angle. And, yes, that No. 26 pick that the Islanders traded to Columbus started out with the Sharks and had stops in Tampa Bay and Ottawa along the way, too.

3:47 p.m. — Well, this next tidbit triggered a very hostile reaction in here a year ago, but, hey, it’s a slow news day so far. Word just arrived from Montreal that the Sharks media relations crew was named tops in the Western Conference in voting by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. San Jose took the title for a third straight year while Washington did the same in the Eastern Conference.

So will this hold up as the biggest Sharks news of the day?

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2:52 p.m. – In case you missed it elsewhere, the NHL and NHLPA reached agreement on payroll boundaries for next season: The cap is $56.8 million and the minimum a team has to spend is $40.8 million.

That top figure is an increase of $100,000 but only because the PA opted to apply a “5 percent inflator” — which sounds like a subsidy, but please don’t ask me how that works. Accounting not a strong suit.

2:10 p.m. — Given the nine-hour time difference, Joe Thornton should be a married man by now. Today is his wedding in Davos, Switzerland, and maybe that’s why Doug Wilson went out of his way to assure Joe (and anybody else, including bride Tabea Pfendsack) that he was not going to be traded this off-season.

Somewhere in the WTC archives there’s a posting where Brad Lukowich tells a very funny story about what it was like when he was traded from Dallas to Tampa Bay on the same day he got married. Let’s just say everybody tried to keep that from the bride and things ended up working out fine.

For me, the bigger issue could be that more than a few of Thornton’s teammates may be in Switzerland for the occasion. And if one of them does get shipped out, be a lot harder to track down.

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

So tell us give us a list of the Goalies Wilson has drafted?, Give us a list of the 30 goal scorers Wilson has drafted? Give us a list of all of Wilsons first round picks. You talk about Nabby but forget to mention that Dean Lombardi drafted him, same with Marleau. If you think Michalek is a great player then that tells us all we need to know right there. Wanna talk about Wilson’s great picks is it Kasper, or is it Ty Wishart, or who?

Yes I will admit Doug Wilson has drafted a few good players such as Vlasic and Pavelski but even a blind squarrel finds a nut occassionally.

#92 lets not mislead people
None of those players you mention were drafted by the Sharks were they?

http://www.fearthefin.com Mr. Plank

Thanks for pointing that out jrguru. Was just about to do the same.

macassi707

#98

and thats why your not a gm

GP

Eddie, sorry bud — you really really need to read what I said without reading anything more into it. I’m not looking for a fight like you clearly are. And, I’m not going to re-explain what was clear in the first place.

I could easily make you look really foolish if I spent 1000 words explaining what I said, when I said it, how I said it, where I said, who said it, why I said it. But, I am not going to do that. I pick my words carefully and they mean exactly what I said.

I will say this, if you think the 08-09 Sharks team sucked, then simply DON’T renew your tickets and/or you internet subscription to access this blog.

Arguing with you about your fantasy hockey teams is a waste of my time. I’d rather rehash my argument with Dave Silva about Douglass Murray’s contract. It’s much more interesting….

And btw: both the tone and content of your response simply means you didn’t understand a word I wrote.

GP

“NHL GMs aren’t going to build their teams on the whims and desires of their fans.”

Not a word for word quote, but is from EJ Radik in a discussion this morning on NHL Live while talking with Billy Jaffy about the Isles possibly picking Taveras.

oceanside

macassi707 #102: “and thats why your not a gm”

Oh, pray tell, and why is DW a GM? Did he go to GM college and get his GM PhD that makes him so uniquely qualified to be a GM?

eddie knows alot about hockey and he is a very smart successful guy in his own right, otherwise he could not afford to buy Sharks seasons tickets for his family all these years.

The truth matter is that DW fell into the job of GM. He was a hockey player with the Sharks when the franchise first started, he retired shortly thereafter, and he was in the right place at the right time into the GM job.

eddie

#102

And that’s why the Sharks cannot win in the playoffs. Tell us again how many stanley cups has our GM won?

http://www.fearthefin.com Mr. Plank

GP- your eyeball assessment of the Sharks drafting prowess is spot on. This may be a bit much for some folks, but there is a PDF a Maple Leafs fan created which can be found at this link:

No I understood exactly what you said. You claim that the Sharks draft better then most teams do. And I will agree we DID at one time draft better then most teams, but the last 4 years under DW our drafting has been horrible, its not about luck its about knowing prospects.

I think the experts at the hockey news know a hell of a lot more then YOu and I do and they state that the Sharks last 3 draft classes have rated out 24th of 30 teams. I would not call that great. So yes if you want to try and school me in 1000 word go ahead.

Tell us all the great draft picks made in the Wilson Era, vs the Draft picks of teams not so-good like say Anaheim, Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh etc..If your happy with 1st and 2nd round playoff loses thats your right, but not me. I want my team to actually win a championship, yes I know that beyond your comprehension because only 1 of 30 teams wins the championship yeah I know I know I got it we all got it. But that doesn’t mean I have to be like you and evil and be statisfied with 1st and 2nd round playoff loses.

eddie

#107 great list, notice it is from 2006 or goes through the 2006 draft. At that time we did draft very good I will admit and the stats are sku’ed because of a lot of Lombardi’s prospects just hitting our system. But its interesting it doesn’t show how the Sharks draft record is since 2006.

As for the overall tone that the Red Wings don’t draft great, that could be debated now, however the Red Wings also use Free Agency to acquire players such as Hossa, Rafaleki, Conklin, Osgood,,etc just to name a few. Here’s something for you to do. List the last 3 drafts of Wilsons and compare it to that of the Ducks, Blackhawks, Wings, Pens and lets see who’s is better. Do the sharks draft better then Tampa Bay yes but then again where is tampa bay and is that the team we are trying to beat.

While you are at your draft comparison also list the Free Agents signed by Wilson the last 3 seasons vs the Free Agents signed by Detroit and Pittsburgh the last 3 seasons. Not resigning of their own players but actual free agents.

I don’t think DW has drafted worse than anyone in the division… sure it would have been nice to take Getzlaf instead of Bernier. But there probably are a dozen teams that would say the same thing

eddie

I think you meant Doug’s first round picks not Deans

Of those first round picks

Michalek good pick top 6 forward
Bernier Traded top 9 forward
Kasper —Minor leaguer at best 4th liner
Setogucchi– Top 6 forward, but has only played 2 seasons
Wishart —Traded
Couture —Injury prone, and not a tough player probably a 3rd liner
Petrecki—jury is still out on him

Not exactly an impressive group when put against the Kings

Dustin Brown top 3 forward
Anze Kopitar there leading scoring top 3 forward
Drew Doughty a top 2 pairing on Defense
Thomas Hickey a top 4 paring defensman

The Ducks
Getzlaf and Perry,,,,better then ANYONE (REPEAT ANY DW has ever drafted)
Bobby Ryan…Hell you have Anaheims entire top line
Smid was part of the Pronger trade so I guess he actually helped
Absolutely no comparsion for the Sharks none at all
3 TOP LINE FORWARDS There 3 leading scorers vs our draft.

You cannot seriously look at that list and say that Wilson’s record on drafting has been good. Are you kidding Anaheims entire top line Getzlaf-Perry and Ryan were all drafted by the Ducks during Wilson time on the job. Hell the Kings top 2 scorers Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar and one of their best defenseman Drew Doughty were drafted while Wilson was busy trading away our draft picks. Heck even Phoenix drafted better then we did Wheeler is better the Bernier and one could easily say its an equal with Michalek. Mueller is a top 2 Center for them. Hanzel and Turris are both very good players and Tikhonov might be the best of all of them,, no comparison at all. In fact your graph just made my point even stronger to those who actually look at things without rose colored glasses on.

Kirk #110: ” I don’t think DW has drafted worse than anyone in the division… sure it would have been nice to take Getzlaf instead of Bernier.”

You’re a scream, Kirk. I’ve read your statement about 6x already and I can’t stop laughing. It would have been nice to take Getzlaf? Only “nice”?

In 2003, DW really screwed the pouch with his picks. You see, 2003 was a red banner year for budding super-stars and DW had a good draft position and he BLEW IT. It wasn’t just his missing Getzlaf – though that’s really bad in itself – but it’s the other stars that DW totally overlooked.

DW had the 6th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Getzlaf, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Dion Phaneuf, Shea Weber, Zach Parise were all still available and DW could have picked any of them and instead he chose Milan Milque Toast. Ouch!!!!!

DW also had the 15th overall pick – Perry, Weber, Parise, Mike Richards were still available and he passed on those all-stars and chose Steve Bernier instead. I’ve got a migraine just typing those names next to Bernier’s.

rkp25

Steve Bernier could have been amazing. Remember the way he’d hold off defenders with one hand on the stick.

He was so impressive at times, but just utterly non-existant at others.

I wish we’d given him a few more years to mature and fill the potential he showed us at times.

Kirk

Yeah and Shea Weber in the 2nd round… instead we got Matt Carle.

The 2003 draft was ridiculously amazing. But the would have, could have, should haves are easy to say six years later. It’s like reading the winning lotto numbers and thinking… whoa I should have picked those numbers.

At no point did I state that I thought DW is the greatest GM in hockey, but I also don’t think he royally screwed the pooch either.

oceanside

rkp25 #117 “Remember the way he’d hold off defenders with one hand on the stick.”

No I don’t remember that. Were the defenders after his cheeseburger or something? That’s the only reason I could picture Bernier “holding off” defenders.

Naslund

From our beloved club page, for those who didnt see it yet…

Although the Sharks didn’t make a big move at Day One of the Draft, that doesn’t mean they weren’t offered any. Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson explained that the Sharks had the opportunity to move into the First Round, but they didn’t want to do it at the expense of their two Second Round picks.

“We felt that the players that we were looking at fell more into the area where our picks lie for tomorrow,” explained Wilson. “If you noticed, a lot of the teams in the second half of the first round moved out of there.”

AND…

Saturday the Sharks will start the Draft with two Second Round picks, one Fifth round pick and one Seventh round selection. But Wilson has said that he is looking to add to that mix when they return for Day Two on Saturday at 7:00 AM (Pacific).

MY TWO CENTS…

Stop bashing poor DW, we got the presidents cup this year and well that wasnt by accident, sure we belly flopped. DW is good at times, look at what he got for that pick you guys were all clamoring over, that guy with the number 22 on his back, I wish we had another 1st round pick to trade away for the like, hell i would trade our two second round picks for another one of him. Either way tomorrow we may get something good or we may not, we still have a solid club and im fairly confident we do better this year then last.

OH YEAH…

Any news on Gustavsson? I would love for Nabby to wet his pants with this guy breathing down his neck…

eddie

#118

I see your using one of Wilson’s phrases, we could …Although I believe his actual quote in tommorrows Mercury News print editon goes like this
“We had the opportunity” but we turned it down hell why get a first round pick if it isn’t a top 11 pick. Please are you serious DW are you really serious you passed up the opportunity to get a first round pick and possible all star because it wasn’t a top 11 pick. Okay then.

I told everyone that DW would use the we could have, and we tried, we almost did, we wanted to type lines. All excuse type lines. The excuse this time is “we had the opportunity” but we felt that we needed to have a top 11 pick otherwise what’s the point when we could just pick 32 players later. Okay we get it Doug players 12-43 are all ranked about the same okay we get it Doug, yeah and I have some swamp land for sale in the delta.

eddie

DP, whoever is your headline editor made me laugh, when I read on the Mercury news website this headline. “No moves, but Wilson says Sharks didn’t stand still” LOL! Was Wilson even on the draft floor or does he mean by not standing still that he was at some club dancing. Because it sure seemed like the Sharks stood still, what exactly did they do?

That is an awesome headline DP, please give the editor his deserved props.

GP

Kirk, just remember….some here will read what they want to read and not what you wrote.

Scott

“No I don’t remember that. Were the defenders after his cheeseburger or something? That’s the only reason I could picture Bernier “holding off” defenders.”

Oceanside…ummm…that was Bernier’s signature move – at least while in Teal.

Makes me wonder if you’ve ever seen a Sharks game.

OR

Were you trying to make fun of rpks observation of Berniers spin move, or make fun of Berniers spin move? And furthermore, when did you stop beating your dog?

Hey, just don’t take it personally. Just letting you know whether you were trying to be funny or not comments I see comments like that come from you all the time. That’s just my opinion. I don’t respond often, but they aren’t appreciated as witnessed by many as to the numerous arguments you get into with.

oceanside

Scott #123 “Makes me wonder if you’ve ever seen a Sharks game…Hey, just don’t take it personally. Just letting you know whether you were trying to be funny or not comments I see comments like that come from you all the time. That’s just my opinion. I don’t respond often, but they aren’t appreciated as witnessed by many as to the numerous arguments you get into with.”

Say what? The numerous comments I get into with are appreciated as witnessed by many????…righhhhht…hey, rest assured, I don’t take what you say personally.

And fyi, my family have been seasons ticket holders for… let me see….13 years.

And what about you, Scott…how many years have you been a seasons ticket holder?

midge

Bernier…I was a fan…often seemed to come up with something surprising and good at the right time…thought trading him was a bad move…

Watched him when he got to VAN…started out top line with the Sedins…made some great moves…lasted about 6-8 games? Then he slowly made his way down the lines…don’t know what I ever saw in him…all I can say is the guys around him on the Sharks made him look a whole lot better than he looked in VAN…

midge

IMO…the good news today is that DW didn’t do anything (wrong)…

oceanside

midge- here’s some news from GM Murray’s perspective about the Pronger trade – he’s thinking 2-3 years ahead with all his player moves now – that’s a calculating very smart GM – under GM Murray’s leadership, Anaheim is going to be a force to reckon with for years to come-most teams take 5 years or more to rebuild -GM Murray has done 1/2 of the rebuild in 3 months. He’s already got Giguere to give him a short list of teams he’s willing to be traded to ( say the Leafs or the Habs anyone?) – check out the comments – one reader predicts that BOTH Lupul and Giguere will be traded by Murray over the summer so he can position the Ducks to acquire a couple of top 6 forwards for their 2nd line.

Interesting fact, both of the players the Sharks drafted were not only reaches, but also listed the Anaheim Ducks as their favorite team.

Wan8iv

Eddie saw that, that is funny thanks for those links

Victor

Geez this Doherty kid is huge. Guess DW felt that’s what was missing during the playoffs. A Chris Pronger type Defenseman….atleast size wise.

Starting to feel like DW still thinks that he has the team to win the cup. Wants to blow more smoke up our a—

Victor

By the way, that Wrenn guy has some type of California connection.

eddie

#139 More likely a Mike Rathje type

#140 Wrenn is from Alaska isn’t that Matt Carles neck of the woods?

Victor

LOL Wrenn moved to Los Angeles at 14 and that’s where he was recognized by the U.S. hockey program.

Johnny San Jose

You guys are too funny. I’m talking to the arm-chair GMs. I’m really hoping you stop supporting the Sharks and become Islanders fans. Just on the basis that Garth Snow has had a better last couple of drafts compared to Wilson.

This team won the President’s trophy last season. Give me a break with all of this Playoff early exit stuff. There have been a number on 1st and 2nd seeds that get bounced from the playoffs in recent years.

Minor tweaks, not major overhauls.

Scott

Oceanside: I’ve had my tickets since the tank opened (93-94). You do the math….Its much longer than you though.

I’ve been through those tough years. And I did suffer though the first 2 seasons from afar.

You and eddie act like this is the worst team this franchise as ever had.

ALL those compliments you say your getting, most aren’t reading the bullying tactics and miss the snide comments personally directed at your fellow posters. That is what I am pointing out.

I don’t care that you have fooled people into thinking you’re such a great guy. I can read right through it.

This blog use to be fun. With you and your cohort and the occasional sidekick making up about 75% of the posts that are on average twice as long as any of the longest posters here, and talking about 1 thing.